AMA introduces national advancement system for off-road competition

December 19, 2012

PICKERINGTON, Ohio --
Participants in American Motorcyclist Association-sanctioned off-road races
will soon have greater assurance that their competition is properly classified.
For 2013, the AMA is rolling out a nationwide program to advance C- and B-class
riders across similar off-road disciplines.

"The time has come for a standardized, nationwide advancement process for
AMA-sanctioned off-road competition," said AMA Off-Road Manager Chuck
Weir. "Racers should be provided with an accurate gauge to measure their
skills relative to their fellow competitors. They deserve professional and
consistent class rankings, and nationwide off-road advancement is an important
part of that."

Modeled after the existing B-to-A class advancement procedure for enduro
racing, the new off-road advancement process assigns lifetime advancement
points to riders who finish in approximately the top 15 percent in either the
overall C or overall B skill designation. Once a rider earns 100 lifetime
advancement points during his or her racing career, he or she is advanced to
the next higher level.

"Key to this process working well are the race results themselves,"
Weir added. "That is why we are asking AMA clubs and promoters running
AMA-sanctioned off-road events to provide timely and accurate results. Those
results and earned advancement points for all AMA-sanctioned competition will
be available online at www.americanmotorcyclist.com."

"It's important for racers to keep in mind that the points table is based
on finishing order in the overall C and B skill designations, rather than in
specific classes," Weir explained. "In other words, your lifetime
advancement points are determined by where you finish in the top 15 percent of
all C riders or all B riders. Points are not necessarily earned based on where
you finish in your individual class, such as Vet C or 250 B, for example."

"One of the responsibilities of a sanctioning body is to establish and
enforce fair rules, and legitimate skill designations are a necessary step
toward a truly impartial playing field," Weir said. "Racers will find
this nationwide consistency only in AMA-sanctioned competition, which is just
one more reason why events run by AMA chartered clubs and promoters are the
best in the country -- the gold standard for amateur competition."